Disability Rights

Protect Access for Ohioans with Disabilities

04.01.14

Update: As a result of vocal opposition from the ACLU of Ohio, our coalition partners, and disability rights advocates from across the state, H.B. 333 has been improved. The amended bill makes voluntary a notification process that would have been required in the original bill.

Though the notification process is now voluntary, it still introduces the possibility of increased barriers for Ohioans with disabilities. For this reason, the ACLU of Ohio maintains opposition to H.B. 333.

01.20.14

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state law require that buildings, sidewalks and other public areas be accessible to Ohioans with disabilities.

But H.B. 333, which has a hearing in the Ohio House Judiciary Committee the week of January 20, 2014, would make it harder for individuals with disabilities to challenge barriers to access in court.

H.B. 333 radically undercuts current law to favor big businesses with deep pockets over Ohioans with disabilities who struggle for accessibility.

It also violates the spirit of the ADA, which seeks to enable all people to participate in and contribute to our society by removing barriers that unfairly exclude some of us.